BUFFALO — Canisius Director of Athletics Bill Maher announced today that head rowing coach Joel Furtek has resigned from his position. Furtek, who has led Golden Griffins’ rowing program since 2011, will be leaving Canisius to take the Crew Operations Coordinator position at Yale University.
Maher also announced today that assistant coach Erin Neppel will serve as the program’s interim head coach through the spring season.
“We were very fortunate in 2011 to have Joel Furtek become the head coach of our rowing program when Canisius moved the women’s program back to the varsity level” Maher said. “Joel was the perfect person to reestablish varsity rowing at Canisius College and we thank him for all that he has done in the last five-and-a-half years. In addition to coaching the women on our team, he has also prepared Erin to step into this important leadership role for our rowing program.”
Furtek was named the rowing head coach June 2, 2011 and since then, he has built the program from the ground up. Highlighting the team’s early success is the 2016 Varsity Eight earning a MAAC Silver Medal and the Canisius Varsity Four winning the MAAC crown in 2015.
“I am incredibly proud of what we have built as a program at Canisius and how far the women of our program have come in just five-and-a-half years,” Furtek said. “The only thing that would be able to pull me away from this great thing that we’re building is here at Canisius is literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’ve been fortunate enough to have that opportunity presented to me at my alma mater, and I feel this is a chance for me to go back and repay the institution that has presented me with so much.”
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